Shampa Paul And ORS v. State Of West Bengal And ORS.

01.10.2024 Item No.83 Ct. No.15 S.A.

WPA 24958 of 2024 Shampa Paul & Ors.

-vsThe State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Sabyasachi Chatterjee Mr. Pintu Karar Mr. Akashdeep Mukherjee Mr. Badrul Karim ...for the petitioners Mr. Sandip Ghose Mr. Sudarsan Roy Mr. Debayan Ghosh Mr. D. Majumder ...for the Municipality Mr. Lalit Mohan Mahata Mr. Prasanta Behari Mahata ...for the State The petitioners assert that they are members of a Durga Puja committee known as the Ramkrishna Durgotsav Committee (Mahila). They allege that their application to perform the Durga Puja has not been processed by the North Dum Dum Municipality due to their refusal to accept a government grant for the Puja. The petitioners further contend that the local Councillor has declined to endorse the application seeking permission from the Municipality.

It is undisputed that the Durga Puja has been conducted by this committee at the specified premises for over two decades.

The learned advocates representing the Municipality and the State submit that the organizers have not yet submitted applications for necessary approvals from the fire

licensing authority, the electricity authority, local police, and the concerned Sub-Divisional Officer. I find no justifiable reason for the Councillor's refusal to endorse the application form. Aside from the non-submission of the prescribed form, no other objections have been raised before this Court by the respondents against the petitioners.

In light of these considerations, this writ petition is disposed of with the following directions: 1.

North Dum Dum Municipality shall accept the application submitted by the petitioners (as found on page 36 of the writ petition), regardless of the local Councillor's signature, and grant the necessary permission to perform the Durga Puja within 72 hours from the date of this order.

2.

The petitioners are directed to apply for electricity connection, fire license, police permission, and administrative permission within 48 hours from the date of this order.

3.

The relevant authorities shall process these applications within 72 hours from the date of receipt of the application to ensure that the Durga Puja is conducted with adequate safety measures. All respondents are expected to provide assistance in maintaining the festive atmosphere.

Accordingly, WPA 24958 of 2024 is disposed of.

Urgent certified photocopy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties on compliance of usual legal formalities.

(Kausik Chanda, J.)